This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Wednesday's NHL slate features three games after 7:30 p.m. EST. Below, you'll find a breakdown of the action and suggested options for crafting an effective DraftKings DFS lineup. All game lines and odds used below come courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Jets are the obvious team to build around Wednesday, as they are massive home favorites over the lowly Sharks. Panthers-Penguins and Wild-Coyotes are both closer to toss-ups, with the road team narrowly favored in both games. Sharks-Jets has a slate-low over/under of 5.5 goals, while the other two come in at 6.0.
GOALIES
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG vs. SJ ($8,500): Hellebuyck is statistically the best goalie taking the ice Wednesday, and he also has the most favorable matchup. He's firmly in the Vezina Trophy conversation with a 24-10-3 record, 2.19 GAA and .925 save percentage. Meanwhile, the Sharks are tied for last in the NHL with 2.08 goals per game, so Hellebuyck should be worth paying up for.
Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA at PIT ($7,800): Bobrovsky has allowed just six goals during his current four-game winning streak, which has improved his overall record to 25-10-2, with a 2.43 GAA and .913 save percentage. The star netminder has a nice opportunity to add to his momentum against a Penguins team that has allowed the most fantasy points to opposing goalies by virtue of averaging the eighth-fewest goals (2.90) on the fifth-most shots (33.3) per game.
Connor Ingram, ARI vs. MIN ($7,300): Ingram's 0-3-1 in his last four starts, but he's still 17-12-2 overall with a 2.76 GAA and solid .912 save percentage. Despite the recent struggles, he has some against-the-grain appeal here against Minnesota's middling offense. Ingram's 11-5-0 with a 2.57 GAA at home compared to 6-7-2 with a 2.96 mark on the road.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Sidney Crosby, PIT vs. FLA ($8,000): Crosby's in the midst of yet another elite season. He leads the Penguins in both goals (28) and points (52) through 49 games. After having a nine-game point streak snapped in his previous game, Crosby's capable of starting up a new streak, even in a tough matchup against the stingy Florida defense.
Sean Monahan, WPG vs. SJ ($4,900): Monahan's still searching for his first point as a member of the Jets, but the trade acquisition has a golden opportunity to get that monkey off his back in his fourth game with Winnipeg. He had 35 points in 49 games with the Canadiens prior to moving west, and Monahan's offensive capabilities should shine through against a Sharks team that's surrendering a league-high 3.82 goals per game.
Nick Schmaltz, ARI vs. MIN ($4,500): Schmaltz is a key figure on Arizona's power play. He leads the team with eight power-play goals, and his 14 power-play points are second to Clayton Keller's ($6,600) 21. At his modest $4,500 valuation, Schmaltz is a low-risk, high-reward play against a Wild team with the league's third-worst penalty kill (74.3 percent).
William Eklund, SJ at WPG ($3,600): The Sharks haven't played in two weeks, but Eklund was red-hot prior to the break, with five points in his last three games. The affordable center will look to pick up where he left off while skating in a top-six role and on the No. 1 power-play unit.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Jets vs. Sharks
Mark Scheifele (C - $6,100), Kyle Connor (W - $7,500), Nikolaj Ehlers (W - $5,500)
You can lock in Winnipeg's entire top line against the league's worst defensive team without straining your salary cap, so most lineups will likely do just that. Connor leads the team with 19 goals despite having played in just 34 of 50 games. Scheifele is the team points leader with a 15-28-43 line in 44 appearances, while Ehlers has surprisingly been this line's most durable member, ranking second in both goals and points with a 16-20-36 line without having missed a game.
Wild at Coyotes
Joel Eriksson Ek (C - $7,800), Kirill Kaprizov (W - $8,100), Matt Boldy (W - $6,300)
Minnesota has usually opted to keep Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov on separate lines in the past to balance the lineup, but they are currently thriving while sharing the ice both at even strength and on the top power-play unit. Kaprizov has seven goals and six assists in his last eight games, while Eriksson Ek has an 8-6-14 line over his last 10. Boldy has been more than just a passenger with a 2-3-5 line in his last two outings, and an Arizona team that's allowing 3.14 goals per game will have a hard time cooling off this red-hot trio.
Panthers at Penguins
Aleksander Barkov (C - $7,300), Sam Reinhart (W - $7,900), Carter Verhaeghe (W - $7,100)
Florida's top line doesn't come cheap, but all three of its members have been worth paying up for more often than not. Barkov's coming off a three-point game, which has him up to 51 points in 46 appearances overall, putting him comfortably above a point per game for the fourth consecutive season. Reinhart's 39 goals are second-most in the NHL, three back of Auston Matthews' league lead. Verhaeghe hasn't been as prolific as Reinhart, but he's tracking towards a second straight 40-goal season and is currently riding a four-game point streak.
DEFENSEMEN
Josh Morrissey, WPG vs. SJ ($5,700): Morrissey's integral to any Jets stack, as he's third on the team with 35 points. Even having taken a step back after last season's 76-point campaign, Morrissey remains among the top offensive threats from the blue line in the NHL. He's in good position to capitalize on a favorable matchup with a Sharks team that's allowing the most goals per game (3.82) and has the league's second-worst penalty kill (73.0 percent).
Erik Karlsson, PIT vs. FLA ($5,400): Karlsson could be in line for a larger role after fellow offensive-minded blueliner Kris Letang ($5,200) left Monday's practice early. Regardless of Letang's status, Karlsson is the top offensive threat on Pittsburgh's blue line, as he has more points (37-30) and a lot more power-play points (12-2) than Letang.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic, SJ at WPG ($3,700): Vlasic often shared the ice with Karlsson during Karlsson's days in San Jose, and Letang has channeled his inner Karlsson over the last three games, producing a three-game goal streak. He rounded out his line with 12 shots and nine blocked shots over that span. If two weeks off hasn't cooled Vlasic off, he should provide nice value at his sub-$4,000 valuation.
Matt Dumba, ARI vs. MIN ($2,700): Dumba snapped a 29-game goal drought Monday, just in time for a revenge game against his former team. The affordable blueliner scored double-digit goals four times with the Wild, and he has provided strong two-way value with eight blocked shots in his last two games.
